Press ReleaseThe Iowa City Book Festival Starts October 10

The Iowa City Public Library is thrilled to once again co-sponsor the Iowa City Book Festival. Now in its fifth year, the event is organized by Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature to celebrate books and writing. The Festival runs from October 10-13 and includes a slate of exciting programming and nationally prominent authors.

 

Iowa City Book Festival Events Held at ICPL

 

Panel: Fiction or Fact

• Saturday, October 12
• 10 a.m., Meeting Room A
• Mario Alberto Zambrano, Brian Kimberling and Tessa Mellas join International Writing Program participants Nada Faris (Kuwait) and Oscar Ranzo (Uganda) discuss how writers use real people and events and turn them into fiction/memoir.

Panel: A Sense of Place I

• Saturday, October 12
• 11 a.m., Meeting Room A
• Tom Drury, David Rhodes and Kate Milliken join International Writing Program participant Dénes Krusovszky (Hungary) to discuss the importance of setting in their work. This will address topics of regional fiction as well as the challenges/rewards of reaching audiences unfamiliar with a particular location.

Panel: First Novel Experiences

• Saturday, October 12
• 12 p.m., Meeting Room A
• Sarah Bruni, Don Waters, Tracey Garvis Graves, and John Havick join International Writing Program participant Whiti Hereaka (New Zealand) to discuss how that first book in print changed their lives, or not; and anything else about their experience of going from unpublished to published for the first time.

Panel: A Sense of Place II

• Saturday, October 12
• 1 p.m., Meeting Room A
• Susanna Daniel, Gregory Galloway and Larry Watson join International Writing Program participant Lili Mendoza (Panama) discuss the importance of setting in their work. This will address topics of regional fiction as well as the challenges/rewards of reaching audiences unfamiliar with a particular location.

Panel: Politics and Prose

• Saturday, October 12
• 2 p.m., Meeting Room A
• Anthony Marra joins International Writing Program participants Karim Alrawi (Canada/UK/Egypt), Shandana Minhas (Pakistan), and Roland Rugero (Burundi) to discuss how the current political landscape affects their work.

Panel: A Sense of Place III

• Saturday, October 12
• 3 p.m., Meeting Room A
• Dean Bakopoulos, Natalie Bakoupolos, and Carrie Brown join International Writing Program participant Yui Tanizaki (Japan) to discuss the importance of setting in their work. This will address topics of regional fiction as well as the challenges/rewards of reaching audiences unfamiliar with a particular location.

Reading: Joelle Charbonneau & Gregory Galloway

• Saturday, October 12
• 3 p.m., Teen Area (2^nd Floor)
• Young Adult authors Joelle Charbonneau and Gregory Galloway read from their latest YA novels.

Panel: The Vonnegut Effect

• Saturday, October 12
• 4 p.m., Meeting Room A
• In conjunction with a visit by a traveling exhibit from the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis, Andrew Sean Greer and Charles Blackstone will discuss the ongoing impact of one-time University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop instructor Vonnegut on the world of letters. They will be joined by International Writing Program participant Craig Cliff (New Zealand).

Scenes from the Nutcracker

• Sunday, October 13
• 11 a.m., Meeting Room A
• Nolte Dance Academy will present Scenes from the Nutcracker.

Citizen Scholars: Biographical Sketches of Iowa City Authors

• Sunday, October 13
• 1 p.m., Meeting Room A
• A partnership between the University of Iowa Digital Studio for the Public Humanities and the City of Literature, will present biographical sketches of Iowa City authors Robyn Schiff, Sarah Prineas, and Larry Baker.

Reading: Hot Tin Roof

• Sunday, October 13
• 2:30 p.m., Meeting Room A
• Contributors to the Little Village "Hot Tin Roof" writing feature will read from their work.

For a full schedule of the many events, visit http://www.iowacitybookfestival.org/schedule/.

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